God's Glory - Diamonds in the Dust with Joni Eareckson Tada

A Culture of Grumbling and Complaining

Our human predisposition to complain and whine has been amplified by social media and the 24/7 news cycle among other things.

All of us are guilty of complaining even amidst the many blessings God provides for us.

We are often rebellious and unforgiving.

Many people are humbled and drawn to Christ through suffering, physical and otherwise.

The stakes are to high for God to leave us to our own sin nature.

Joni Eareckson Tada talks about her lifelong suffering and why grumbling is a temptation but not a choice she chooses to make.

Are you ungrateful, a whiner and complainer? If so repent and humble yourself before God!!

Worse Than Any Affliction by Joni Eareckson Tada

Why I Refuse to Grumble

"Last year was a season of losses for me. It started in the spring when I was hospitalized 21 days for double pneumonia. The lung infection was bad enough, but the extended stay in bed left my right arm thick with lymphedema. Some of it was related to my long-ago therapy for cancer, but this was different. After my lungs cleared, I was sent home, but with a bulkier arm that was hard to lift.

Then in late summer, I developed a second respiratory infection, much worse than the first. During another lengthy hospital stay, I noticed more problems with my right arm. The doctors, however, stayed focused on the more life-threatening issue with my lungs. When the infection cleared and I was ready to go home, it was obvious my arm had suffered more damage. The already minuscule muscles I had used to feed myself were gone. Even with my hand splint, I could not lift the spoon to my mouth.

Decades ago, after suffering quadriplegia in the wake of my accident, doctors warned me that my partially paralyzed muscles would atrophy, and I knew that my “good” arm and my fragile lungs would eventually deteriorate. I just didn’t realize how hard it would be, losing the capacity to breathe well and losing my independence at mealtimes. Like I said, it was a tough year.

My flesh is wasting away, and who would blame me if I complained? Certainly not the world — it’s natural for them to expect an old lady in a wheelchair to grumble over her losses. But followers of Jesus Christ should expect more from me. Much more..." from the article Worse Than Any Affliction

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